Nigeria has officially unveiled its first-ever National Netball Team, the Green Hawks, ahead of the Africa Championship in Nairobi, Kenya, marking what President of the Nigeria Netball Federation, Dr. (Mrs.) Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko, described as a new dawn for the sport in the country.
The Green Hawks will make their historic international competitive appearance at the Africa Regional Qualifier from September 19 to 26, 2026, where Nigeria will battle some of the continent’s leading netball nations and pursue a place at the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
Aluko said Monday’s unveiling was more than the presentation of a national team, describing it as the fulfilment of a long-held ambition to provide Nigerian netball players with a pathway from grassroots participation to the international stage.
“This is not simply the unveiling of a team. It is the beginning of a new chapter in Nigerian sports,” Aluko said.
She described the players selected for the historic team as pioneers, saying their names would forever be associated with the beginning of Nigeria’s journey in international netball.
“The birth of our first national team represents the dreams of thousands of Nigerian girls and women who have played netball without ever imagining that one day they could wear the national colours and represent Nigeria on the world stage,” she said.
Aluko also praised the leadership of the National Sports Commission, saying its renewed direction had provided emerging sports such as netball with opportunities to develop and contribute to Nigeria’s international sporting ambitions.
The NNF President said the Federation’s vision is to take netball “from the grassroots to the podium” by developing the sport in schools, tertiary institutions, communities, states, military and paramilitary institutions while producing more players, coaches, umpires and technical officials.
Nigeria’s immediate attention, however, turns to Nairobi.
The Green Hawks are drawn in Pool 2 alongside hosts Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia. Nigeria opens against Kenya on September 19 before facing Uganda, Malawi and Zambia in its remaining pool matches.
With two World Cup qualification places available through the African qualifier, Aluko said Nigeria’s ambition goes beyond simply making up the numbers.
“We do not merely want to participate internationally. We want Nigeria to compete. We want Nigeria to be respected. And we want Nigeria to become a force to be reckoned with in African and global netball,” she declared.
Aluko challenged the pioneering Green Hawks to wear Nigeria’s colours with pride, courage, discipline and unity, stressing that they will be representing not only themselves but a new generation of Nigerian girls who now have a national team to aspire to.
She also called on corporate organisations, development partners, the media and the wider sporting community to support the Federation as it seeks to establish a sustainable future for netball.
Her message as Nigeria prepares to enter a new sporting frontier was emphatic:
“Nigeria is here. Nigeria is ready. Nigeria is playing netball. And we are determined to take Nigerian netball from the grassroots to the podium.”
For the Green Hawks, the journey is only beginning — but when Nigeria steps onto the court at the Africa Championship in Nairobi, history will already have been made.
